The Little Mermaid Remake Reportedly Casting Ariel's Family

The Little Mermaid is scheduled to begin production this April and it looks like the live-action adaptation is ready to lock in some more of Ariel's family. A report from The DisInsider says that the studio has begun casting Ariel's sisters and that they are casting "women of color" for these roles. Some names mentioned in the report as part of a possible wishlist are Zendaya, Keke Palmer, and Halle Bailey's sister Chloe. Another note in that reporting is the consideration of Gugu Mbatha-Raw for the role of Ariel's mother Athena. Things are going to have to come together quickly as production gets underway in a few short months. There are going to be a few changes to the overall narrative of the story and Daveed Diggs is one of the actors in the live-action version to mention that change.

"Some of the updates they've done to the story are really important in terms of giving some more power back to Ariel," Diggs explained. "It's fun to work on something that's so intentional in the idea of 'If we're going to make this now, we're not going to leave this alone as a time capsule.' Let's make it for now."

That's not much to go on right now until more details come to light. People involved with the project are hoping that established fans will enter this new movie with an open mind. It also bears mentioning that previous live-action versions of Disney classics have had some of their more troublesome elements trimmed. Original Ariel actress Jodi Benson was quick to defend Halle Bailey when the younger actress got announced as Ariel this time around.

"The most important thing is to tell the story. And we have, as a family, we have raised our children, and for ourselves, that we don't see anything that's different on the outside," Benson said at Florida Supercon convention last year.

"I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters. What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart, and their spirit, is what really counts. And the outside package — cause let's face it, I'm really, really old — and so when I'm singing 'Part of Your World,' if you were to judge me on the way that I look on the outside, it might change the way that you interpret the song. But if you close your eyes, you can still hear the spirit of Ariel."